Title: Chuck vs. Life
Author: marybr
Characters: mainly Chuck/Sarah (but the regulars are there – Casey, Ellie, Morgan, Awesome, etc.)
Chapters: 7/?
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters portrayed in this fic. I'm gaining nothing with this, except the sheer joy of being Chuck/Sarah's puppet master. I do own Julia, 'though :D
Summary: First of all I suck at summaries, so regard this fact as you read this. The fic fits right after the last episode aired (1x11), and it basically picks up after those events. It's nothing more than Chuck and co. moving on with their lives, and especially centering on how Chuck and Sarah will deal with their mutual feelings. I know, this summary blows… Just read the first chapter, and you'll get a sense of what is actually about.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You're great. Sorry for the delay in updating, but I've been really busy. Not having fun at the pool, if that's what you're thinking. The weather took a turn for the worst the last few days, anyway. But my graduation ceremony is a couple of weeks from now; so, I have all these things to attend to: buying a dress, deliver invitations, you know, the usual. I thought going thought Law University was hard, but apparently, graduating is worse. I won't bore you with details 'though.
I need to run some errands now, but had to post this. So, less feedback on your reviews. Sorry about that. But a special mention to nattylovesjordy (loved your review, the longer the better), Go-Chuck-Go, federaldragon and SoContagious
Also, I hear you guys. Things are not really well right now. But be patient, they'll improve. And the reason why I think it's tougher on Sarah is because she knows she likes Chuck, and that he likes her back. All she had to do was say yes, and they'd be together. But she can't. Chuck, on the other hand, likes Sarah. But thinks she has no interest in him. So, all he can do is try to move on with someone who does like him. Something like that.
This chapter is really long. It's like two chapters in one. See, I'm making up for my delay here… :) Besides, I was kinda afraid if I left off where I was planning to left things off, you guys would throw rocks at me.
Chapter VII
Chuck pondered for good 20 minutes whether calling Julia that same night -- to ask her out on a date -- would be obsessive in the stalker kinda way, or boldly sweet in a charming way. After much struggle he went with sweet, and apparently, so did Julia. 'Cause she promptly and happily agreed to go out with him on the following day. And to be quite honest, he was really thrilled with the idea of a real date. No CIA, no NSA, no ear pieces, no bugs, no nothing. Just two people going out to enjoy themselves, and learn about one another. He wouldn't complain if the evening involved some making out, too.
So, "the following day" turned into today. Chuck sat on the break-room area's couch waiting for Casey and Sarah. The store wasn't open yet. Casey had phoned Chuck that morning informing him of their meeting, which would occur at the Buy More, half an hour before opening. And here he was.
Casey and Sarah arrived at the same moment, both adorning their uniforms.
"Good morning to you, Casey," Chuck enthusiastically greeted him, smiling ear to ear.
"Great morning, isn't it Sarah?" he added, still in a good mood.
They stopped near the coffee table. Casey threw some files he was carrying on it, while both agents looked down at him oddly.
"What?! Can't a guy be in a good mood?" he asked.
"If you get like this after just listening to some sappy songs, and getting her to go out with you. Kinda desperate to call on the same day, by the way, don't you think? I wonder how you will act like when you actually get into her pants," Casey said, with a smirk on his face.
"What?!" he blurted out, getting up quickly.
Sarah was caught off guard by her partner's statement. She looked from him to Chuck a couple of times. She knew this would happen, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.
"You were listening to us?! How could you do this, Casey?! That is a total violation of my privacy…" he went on angrily, but was cut by the male agent.
"Yeah, yeah… We have bugs in your room for your protection; we violate your trust, privacy, whatever. We've already had this argument, and I didn't enjoy then. What makes you think I do enjoy now? The bugs are there, and they'll stay there. Get over it, and stop whining! Now, can we get to work?" Casey said firmly.
Sarah was watching the exchange between the two men, but the thing, the fact that didn't leave her mind was Chuck and Julia.
"I can't believe you people!" he said in defeat, launching himself back onto the couch, and developing a pout.
Sarah took a seat on the other end of the couch, and Casey chose to remain standing. She took the opportunity to steal a glance at Chuck, who was seating at her left; he was still pouting, but no other tells. Casey went ahead and turned on the tv. The satellite connection kicked in after a few touches on the screen, showing the agents' superiors.
"Your next mission is Simon Fuller. A 42 year old, British, black market trader. He sells or trades anything, from information, to weapons, to valuables, for the highest bid. He has no affiliations, nor loyalty towards anything; except money, of course. A few months ago he stole a very important artifact from the United States government, and vanished from the face of the Earth," the General reported.
"But recent intelligence tells us that Fuller just arrived in LA. We believe he's here to sell the artifact. That's where you come in. We received, from a very reliable source, the address of the house he's staying in. We need you to break in, and do a brief recon of the place. He has a meeting today at 8 pm, that'll be the best time to infiltrate the residence," the CIA director added.
"Wait. 8 pm? Do I have to go in this mission, too? 'Cause this seems like an agent job, you know, out in the field. And…, uh, I sorta have plans. Very important plans…" he tried nervously.
Sarah looked at him briefly. He was looking at the screen, and didn't catch that.
"We are aware you have a date, Chuck," the General said.
Sarah flinched on her seat. She looked uncomfortable.
"How do you… Never mind," Chuck let out frustrated.
"What about you and agent Walker? I thought you two were back with your boyfriend/girlfriend cover? What happened there?" the woman insisted on the third degree interrogation.
Chuck felt awkward. Sarah felt awkward. And the superiors didn't miss that.
"It's complicated," Chuck mumbled fastly.
"Is there something we need to know, agent Walker?" the CIA director pressed.
"No, sir," she replied firmly, straightening her posture.
"She has nothing to do with this. It's my fault, ok? I'm the one who needs a real dating life," he said losing his patience.
Why did he have to come to my rescue? Sarah thought. I don't need to be rescued. I can take care of myself. I don't need no Knight in Shining Armor, she thought angrily. She would have to have a little chat with him later.
"Can we move on, please?" Chuck asked.
The superiors seemed to buy the story.
"Fine, but how are we on the girl investigation, Major Casey? Is she a suspect?" she asked in hispid tone.
"You are investigating, Julia? What the…," he tried again outraged, but was cut.
"No. The girl is apparently clean. Not even a parking ticket," he promptly replied, grabbing a file from the coffee table.
Chuck smiled proudly. A smile that said "See! She's great!" Sarah picked up on that, and didn't feel good. Casey picked up on that, and gave Chuck in return a look of disdain; but he carried on, opening the file and reading from it,
"Doctor; born and raised in New York; daughter of a cardiologist, and an English Lit college professor…," he added, but was abruptly cut by Chuck.
"Hey, hey! Stop that! I want to find out those things by myself. Not from a NSA file, or whatever that is. Can't you leave this debrief for when I'm not here?" he pleaded.
The General nodded; Casey closed the file, and threw it back on the coffee table.
"So, will I be excused from the thing, uh, from the recon mission?" he asked expectantly.
Sarah was also expectantly. Casey couldn't care less.
"I don't see why not. It's only a recon mission, next time you're in 'though. But we do need you to go through the file I sent Major Casey, and see if you get a flash," the woman replied.
Sarah seemed disappointed. Maybe, deep down, she wanted Chuck and Julia's date not to go on. Casey caught another file from the coffee table, and threw at Chuck. Chuck caught it spastically.
"Homework!" the male agent said.
"I expect feedback before we go to the mission, Casanova," he sarcastically added.
Chuck mouthed "Ha, ha, ha…" to Casey.
The rest of the briefing went well. Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do.
Casey head out of the room first when it was over. Chuck and Sarah were doing the same when she stopped him, looking determined, and somehow menacing. Which was a tough look to pull when you're dressed like Heidi.
"I…," she started.
She was about to chew his liver out for that little stunt he pulled in front of her superior. He sure must think that she needs to be rescued, that she's this damsel in distress longing for a knight in shining armor. But, as she was replaying these arguments in her head, she realized how irrational she was being. She wouldn't rip his head off because of her own inner issues.
He looked puzzled.
"I just wanted to say good luck on your date tonight," she corrected herself, midst a half-smile.
He got the impression that wasn't exactly what she was going to say. But he let it slide.
"Thanks, I took your advice yesterday and went talking to her," he said politely.
"Well, that's great. I have to go to Wienerlicious now; people must be getting here for work. And I have to open up there, as well," she said lamely.
"Talk to you later," she added, heading for the door.
She was supporting this whole idea of him dating another girl. But she wasn't exactly at the place of seating down and let him talk to her about all the little details of his amazing encounter with Julia. That was a little too much for her to handle, at least for now.
He found her beat a retreat quite odd, but he didn't delve on that.
Their date went by, and it couldn't have been any better. Chuck went with the classic movie and dinner combo. They caught Sweeney Todd on the big screen, and after they went to this intimate and cozy Italian restaurant. One that Chuck had discovered by accident a couple of years ago, and had loved since. This place's lasagna was to Chuck what sizzling shrimps were to his pal Morgan. That's how much he enjoyed.
The evening went on without interferences. Chuck likes to think that the warning he gave to Casey -- when he dropped by his place to say he had no flashes going through the file – had something to do with it. But he knew there was no way in hell he could ever intimidate the agent. There were no interferences simply because nothing major – nor minor – happened to create such.
At dinner they talked a lot. She shared everything he cared to ask about. He liked that novelty. For someone who practically begged another girl to just tell him her middle name, he found it quite refreshing that Julia had no problem telling him not only her middle name, but where she was born, where she grew up, where she went to school – even throwing a couple of high school embarrassing moments as bonus – how many siblings she had, who her parents were, what they did, you know, all these personal stuff that people usually talk about when they're on the first stages of getting to know each other.
If only another certain person was this open. If only another certain blonde felt slightest this inclined to let him in, he wondered. But that was the past, and Julia was there willing to let herself go with him. He could have been a fool, but he wasn't as big as a fool to pass on that opportunity.
He also answered everything she asked honestly. He felt bad for having to keep his other job a secret. He even thought about Sarah at that moment with a sentiment of empathy. In the end he thought it was better to face this as omitting rather than lying.
The time came when their date reached its end. Everything was so nice that neither really felt the hours passing by. Chuck didn't know how to explain, but he felt at easy with Julia. He didn't feel as intimidated as when he was in the company of Sarah. The blonde woman always managed to leave him at this certain state, you know, butterflies in his stomach every time she entered the room, sweaty palms every time any part of her skin slightly brushed any part of his, a rush of blood to the head every time she spoke his name… Wait, was that a bad thing? He thought to himself. Plus, Julia was pretty straight forward; she told like it was. And this games-free zone was very appealing to Chuck. Okay, I have got to stop comparing Julia to Sarah. Otherwise this will never work. His conscious projected.
They reached her building's front steps. They didn't know exactly when it happened, but they were holding hands. It felt natural. But it was time to say goodbye.
"So, here we are," she said smiling.
"Oh, nice digs," he said without thinking, looking up at the building.
He mentally slapped himself. Who said "digs" nowadays? He wondered. He had never used this word before in his life, but he chose this particular moment to start.
She laughed out loud. He got a little self conscious, but she saw this and gave his hand a little reassurance squeeze. He relaxed immediately.
"Thanks," she said flirtatiously, looking directly into his eyes.
He saw the moment. That was the perfect moment for a kiss. He briefly wavered whether he should go for it, or not. He looked into her bright blue eyes and saw the answer. He could tell that she really wanted to kiss him, too. So, he went for it.
It wasn't like a classic Hollywood movie kiss, in which the guy perfectly took the girl in his arms, kissed the sense out of her, and concluded the master piece with a dip. It started slow, both mouths getting used one with the other. Suddenly the rhythm picked up, and hands met body and hair. It didn't last long, but it took their breaths away. It was real.
After breaking apart, both took a few seconds to get re-situated.
"So, do you want to come up?" she asked smiling.
There was no point denying. Julia knew she liked Chuck. She had the best time on their date; actually, she couldn't remember a date when she felt this comfortable. She definitely could see a future for the two of them. And that kiss, well, it showed that a very important piece of the dating puzzle was there: chemistry.
"Sure," he promptly answered, megawatt smile on his face.
God! I love his smile! She thought. But her conscious came back from its quick gushing trip.
"I must warn you, 'though; I don't sleep with guys on the first date," she put honestly.
He was really into her honesty. Even 'though, in this case, meant he wouldn't be getting lucky tonight.
"Duly noted," he joked smiling.
She smiled back.
"I'm fine with that, really," he added.
They were lying in her couch making out. Things were getting intense, and she started to take his shirt off.
"I thought… you said… you didn't sleep… with guys… on the first date," he said in between kisses.
"Well… I guess… they're right," she replied, and then she stopped kissing him.
"There is a first time for everything," she added, looking directly at him.
She took him by the hand, and led him to her bedroom. The door was closed behind them. At that moment, Chuck was thankful that they weren't at his room, where Casey would hear their every word. Not that he was planning all talking that much.
Throughout the following week, Julia became a frequent figure at Chuck's work, and Chuck's home. They did something together every day. Even if it was just a quick stop between shifts to have some coffee. After all, both had full-time jobs. Chuck had two of them. Oh, and Julia had vanilla frappuccinos, something he already knew when they first sat together for coffee.
In one of those days, Sarah was wrapping up another day of work at Wienerlicious. She couldn't wait to get home after a whole day of frying corndogs, and watching wieners revolve. She needed a hot, long shower to unwind. The minute she walked out of the store she saw them: Chuck and Julia – and oddly Casey. They were just standing there, talking near her car. Why would they be hanging around my car to talk? She wondered, locking the door.
She would give an arm and a leg not to go there. But what would she do? Take a walk around the block? Walk home and leave her car there? Any scenario she could picture they'd wound up spotting her making an escape. It was best to face the music. And with that she went towards the trio.
"I had it restored after I bought it," Sarah overhead Julia saying.
"Are the seats original?" Casey asked, picking inside the window.
They noticed Sarah's presence. And she noticed that they weren't hanging near her car, they were hanging around Julia's car. Which, of course, had to be parked next to hers.
"Hey, Sarah," Chuck said smiling.
"Hey," she replied, with a half-smile.
Julia did a quick, but noticeable to Sarah, once over at the blonde. Sarah looked down quickly herself, and she couldn't believe she was standing in front of the brunette in that ridiculous uniform. At least she was not very glamorous in scrubs herself, although Sarah had to admit that she rather be in scrubs than the outfit she was currently adorning.
"Hi, Sarah. Nice to see you again," Julia stated with a polite smile.
"You too," Sarah replied, matching the other woman's smile.
Casey was already getting restless with the obvious tense exchange. He was more interested in Julia's amazing car. After all, he was a car guy at heart.
"So, are the seats original?" the agent repeated the question.
Julia came out of the previous interaction.
"Yes, they are. But I had them replace the old fabric with this real black leather. It smells amazing!" she answered enthusiastically.
"Your car is really nice," Sarah piped in.
"Yeah, some go for the obvious modern machines, like the owner of this Porsche here; but others enjoy the real cars, the real machines, you know, like this baby over here," Casey said pointing at the Camaro, obviously bating Sarah.
Sarah looked briefly at Casey with a smirk on her face. Chuck, on the other hand, was getting really uncomfortable. He looked directly into Sarah's eyes. Julia picked up on that, and felt weird.
"This conversation is really interesting, but we have to go. Shoot! I forgot my rented tux at Buy More," he said.
Sarah and Casey looked puzzled.
"We're attending the New Year's Eve Ball that Jules and Ellie's hospital is throwing tomorrow. A double date kind of thing," he added awkwardly.
Sarah felt terrible hearing that. The use of the nickname didn't help either. It was intimate; they were getting intimate. And that bothered her. It shouldn't, but it did. Chuck looked at her, and again, Julia noticed their looks exchange. She didn't like it.
"Well, I hope you two have fun," she managed to say.
"Thanks. See you guys later," Julia replied.
And off the couple went through the parking lot towards the store. Sarah watched them go, and after a few steps they held hands. That pretty much killed Sarah inside. She had been punched in the stomach many times before, occupational hazard, but this time she lost her breath like never before.
Casey cleared his throat to get the woman's attention. She responded by looking at him. Her face was not amicable; she didn't enjoy being the target of his earlier sarcastic remarks. She noticed the man had huge dark circles beneath his eyes.
"You look terrible," she stated harshly.
"Oh, you'll make me blush…" he teased.
She rolled her eyes.
"The lovebirds kept me up last night," he said.
"All that screaming…" he baited her.
Her eyes grew big like saucers. She felt quizzy and couldn't wait to leave there.
Without saying a word she got into her car and drove off. Casey said sarcastically to himself,
"Was it something I said?"
That same night Chuck and Julia were fooling around in his bed. They broke apart for air.
"I'm going to the kitchen to grab a soda. Want something?" he asked, getting up and smiling.
"Water, please," she replied grinning.
"Be right back," he said, leaving the room.
Julia rolled on his bed, and noticed a Lego construction on his nightstand. She picked it up, and started looking at it. Chuck arrived back.
"Here it goes," he said, handing her a bottle of water.
"Thank you," she replied, grabbing the bottle and placing it on the nightstand.
"So, feeling a little nostalgic, huh?" she added, showing him the Lego thing.
"Oh, that. No, no, uh, it's more like a private thing," he said awkwardly, holding his soda.
The minute the sentence was out of his mouth he knew it sounded wrong. He knew it sounded more like "back off, none of your business". And the look on Julia's face proved his theory. It was not like he could say "Oh, that's just something really special that Sarah, my ex-girlfriend, gave to me". So, he adjusted the truth a little.
"That's not what I meant. It's just like a private joke," he corrected laughing.
She bought it, and smiled back. But somehow she knew that wasn't exactly the whole truth.
23:59:50. It was almost New Year; 2008 was coming. Chuck, Julia, Ellie and Awesome, were all dressed up enjoying the hospital's fancy New Year Eve's Ball. They were looking at this huge screen that was showing the countdown.
People were counting down in unison. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Happy New Year, the DJ's voice came from the microphone. Chuck turned around to Julia and kissed her. Kissed her with all he got. Next to them Ellie and Awesome were doing the same. Right after the kiss was finished she said,
"Happy New Year, honey," smiling ear to ear.
Chuck was happy. He felt happy… enough.
"Happy New Year," he replied.
But at that moment his mind traveled to Sarah. What was she doing? Was she alone? He didn't know the answer to those questions. But what he started to wonder was: would there ever be a time when he didn't think about her? 'Cause there he was, with a beautiful woman by his side, someone whom he really liked, someone whom he could love; and still the blonde woman hijacked his mind.
Between saying his Happy New Years, shaking hands, and distributing kisses on cheeks; those thoughts filled Chuck's mind.
TBC
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I believe the cracks and doubts are starting to make an appearence in Chuck and Jules' relationship. Well, let's wait and see what my little head comes up with next :)
